Rollers Replace Manure Spreader Idler Sprockets

Rollers Replace Manure Spreader Idler Sprockets FARM SHOP Maintenance 11-3-24 "I was tired of having liquid manure freeze up the idler sprockets on my manure spreaders when the weather got cold, causing the unloading chain to roll off the sprockets and break," says Gordon Van Alstine, Cherry Valley, N.Y., who came up with rollers to replace the sprockets. "Even if the rollers freeze up, since they're round, the chain can still slide over them. I've put them on two of my spreaders and my neighbors have also used the idea," Van Alstine notes. On his New Holland 327, he removed the two idler sprockets and replaced them with 4-in. dia., 6-in. long rollers fashioned out of pipe. He welded a plate to the end of each roller and mounted them on the same shafts that the sprockets were on. This way, he can still adjust spreader chain tightness. On his Kasten spreader he ran the 4-in. dia. roller pipe across the width of the spreader and mounted the ends on self-centering bearings. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gordon Van Alstine, Box 295, Cherry Valley, N.Y. 13320 (ph 607 264-3969).

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